Great Pyrenees growling

[sue]

I own a three-year-old Great Pyrenees, Cotton, who just made what seems to be his first "walkabout," which according to what I have just read in my dog book is inevitable. I live in the Big Bend area of Texas, one of the last true wildernesses, so he has lots of room and lots of dangers (mountain lions, bears, javelina, packs of coyotes) to encounter. He was gone 36 hours, and we were pretty frantic with worry. A few days before he left, he had an encounter with another dog who lives on our property named Lucky. Lucky is a young, sweet, neutered male heeler who comes up to our house occasionally. I have noticed that Lucky seems to be boss at his place, and Cotton seems to be boss here. When Lucky came up in the evening, Cotton jumped him and fought with him, although there were no visible wounds. Lucky was terrified and hid under a truck. Cotton was scolded. He walked around the house later that night growling, as if he were very displeased with everyone, but we did not feel in danger of being bitten. Then he disappeared. When he returned this morning, he came in the house with tail up and wagging, but he growled ferociously, especially when he was petted. I'm not really sure what is going on here. Usually, Cotton is a wonderful dog with a loving personality. He has been petted by hoards of people at a Christmas parade, and he is kind to children who visit our home. But he has, in a few isolated past incidents, growled. He has never growled as much as he is now, however. We're wondering what is going on and what we should do.
Sue

[divadexie]

Sorry I am confuesd as to why you let your dog free access to the wilderness if there is danger of lions and bears?? Are you not worried he will get killed??

Cotton was defending his territory, just as Lucky does at his house.
If you want to two dogs to get on then i would suggest walking them along side eachother, walking strengthens bonds and if they are on neutral ground and you don't let them face eachother at first there will be no fighting.

It also sounds like Cotton is not use to being told off? It may have unsettled him as you were scolding him for doing what is natural.

[nick_j007]

Is your dog entire (uncastrated?) if so I would consider getting him done.

There may be a bitch in season nearby (?) remember their sense of smell is powerful.

At 3 years he'll be full of testosterone and looking to see who's really in charge...is it you?

Best wishes,

Nick

[sue]

Thanks to Nick and Divadexie for your responses. Cotton is fine now--the growling has stopped. From what I now know, I don't think Cotton's disappearance is related to Lucky. Apparently he was kidnapped by a man with a long history of problems. The man was wandering in the desert near our place searching for peyote with a female dog in heat, which drew Cotton to him. Several neighbors have reported seeing the man with our dog. I guess Cotton managed to escape after a few days. I have called the sheriff and reported the incident. The reason Cotton has free access to the area around us is that we purchased him partly to protect our livestock. Our ranch is fenced, but it is too big to be fenced with a fence that would contain a dog. I had Cotton microchipped yesterday. I would like to neuter Cotton, but my husband takes such things personally and has adamantly refused. I doubt we will ever deliberately breed him.

Sue

[nick_j007]

Though a man myself, I fail to understand other men that get uptight about castration!

GPS tracking devvices are now available for dogs and this may be of interest to you? probably not cheap though. Your locations and set up sounds very interesting!

Having a dog to guard can be very much a double edged sword. The dog should be well trained so that it understands the boundaries and so on.

Best wishes.

Nick